A Grilladelic Christmas- Perfect Gift #7

Tough economic times calls for creativity in gift giving.  No question, I would love a Grillery or a Weber Ranch Kettle for Christmas, but my babies need new pairs of shoes.

So after you buy the shoes, you have a few sheckles left in your pocket….just enough to give the gift of knowledge.  A subscription to Bon Appetit Magazine,

With the possible exception of Saveur, I think Bon Appetit has the most accessible recipes and great information about techniques.  For example, here is a recipe using a technique I have described as “dry brining”.  In the Bon Appetit world, it is known as “salting”. Forget what you call it…it works.

Salted Roast Turkey

Smoked salt and paprika give this turkey a smoky southwestern flavor that pairs very nicely with the spicy-sweet gravy. Look for Halen Môn oak-smoked sea salt at specialty foods stores and surfasonline.com.

8 to 12 servings

By Rick Rodgers

November 2008

Ingredients

southwestern-spiced salt

• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1/3 cup mild oak-smoked sea salt (such as Halen Môn)
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground chipotle chile powder

turkey

• 1 14- to 16-pound turkey (neck, heart, and gizzard reserved)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 teaspoons ground chipotle chile powder divided
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 12 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups Golden Turkey Stock

gravy

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 pounds onions, chopped
• 4 cups (about) Golden Turkey Stock
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour

Preparation

southwestern-spiced salt

• Toast cumin in skillet over medium heat until darker and beginning to smoke, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Cool; grind finely in spice mill or in mortar with pestle. Transfer to bowl. Mix in remaining ingredients. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 week ahead. Cover; store at room temperature.

turkey

• Rinse turkey inside and out (do not pat dry). Pull any fat pads from main cavity and neck cavity of turkey; wrap, chill, and reserve fat for roasting. Place turkey in roasting bag; sprinkle inside and out with southwestern-spiced salt. Close bag. Place on baking sheet; refrigerate 18 to 24 hours.
• Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 325°F. Mix honey and 1 teaspoon ground chipotle chile in small bowl; reserve for glaze. Rinse turkey inside and out; pat very dry. Stir chopped onion, garlic, and 1 teaspoon ground chipotle chile in medium bowl to blend. Divide mixture between main and neck cavities. Fold neck skin under and secure with skewer. Tuck wing tips under. Tie legs together loosely.
• Place turkey on rack set in large roasting pan. Spread butter all over turkey. Place reserved fat pads and reserved neck, heart, and gizzard in roasting pan; pour in 2 cups Golden Turkey Stock.
• Roast turkey 45 minutes. Baste with pan juices. Continue to roast until thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 165°F to 170°F, basting every 45 minutes, adding water to pan by cupfuls if dry, and tenting turkey loosely with foil if browning too quickly, 3 to 3 1/2 hours longer. Brush turkey with glaze twice during last 30 minutes. Transfer turkey to platter; tent very loosely with foil and let rest 30 to 45 minutes. Reserve roasting pan with juices for gravy.

gravy

• Melt butter in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions; sauté 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook until onions are deep brown, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Set aside.
• Remove turkey neck, heart, and gizzard from roasting pan. Pull meat off neck; chop neck meat, heart, and gizzard and reserve for gravy, if desired. Pour pan juices into 8-cup measuring cup. Spoon off fat from surface, reserving 1/2 cup fat. Add enough turkey stock to degreased pan juices to measure 5 1/2 cups total.
• Place roasting pan over 2 burners on medium heat. Add 1/2 cup reserved fat and 1/2 cup flour to pan. Whisk until roux is light brown, about 2 minutes. Whisk in stock mixture. Bring to boil, scraping up browned bits and whisking. Boil until gravy coats spoon, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add caramelized onions. Add chopped neck, heart, and gizzard, if desired. Season with salt and pepper.
• Serve turkey with gravy.

Grilling – Old School Style

There is a grill company called Portable Kitchen. It is cast aluminum.  Very basic but pretty cool too.  Real old-fashioned.

Here is a recipe I have used numerous times from their website.  Very successfully too. It is a dry brine.  It makes it a heck of a lot easier to store the bird overnight in the refrigerator (vs. a big pail of brine)

PK Thanksgiving Turkey
Martha James, Little Rock, AR

Combine a dry rub mixture consisting of one-cup salt, one-cup of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of sage and 1 teaspoon of thyme.

Rub the fresh or thawed turkey inside and out with mixture.

Place in a bag and refrigerate overnight.

Rinse turkey and pat dry with paper toweling.

Place bird breast down, in a pan with a stick of butter in the cavity.

Grill, indirect heat.  I allow about 2-3 hours, but a lot depends on the temperature of the grill.  November barbecue also adds the element of outdoor wind, cold temps, adding significantly to cooking times.  I always rely on an internal temperature gauge for turkey. I shoot for about 170-175 degrees in the breast before pulling.

Turkey Brines

Cookshack makes a terrific electric smoker.  One of the best for home use on the market.  Their website is full of very useful information.

As folks begin thinking turkey, the art of brining should be in your consideration set.  Follow Cookshack’s basic instructions, you should be able to get a handle on this flavor option for your bird.

Gobble Gobble! Turkey on the Grill

Here is the lowdown on turkey on the grill. You have several options for both seasonings and techniques. I’d be lying if I would say all are good, but generally speaking, an “average” turkey on the grill, is better than one from the oven (at least it is more fun!)

You can basically forget the traditional stuffing going the grill route.  Still make it, but do it inside.

Here are a few thoughts about the process:

Seasoning choices range from brining (wet and dry) to injecting to dry rubs. Brining does add extra flavor and prevents the meat from drying out, but sometimes I detect a hammy flavor with brines. A great site for brine recipes is http://www.cookshack.com/ .

In a nutshell a wet brine is salt, sugar and water. I always use a ratio of 1 C salt, 1 C sugar and 1 gallon of water. You can be very creative with this…and substitute various sugars (honey, syrup, molasses, etc.) Plus add herbs and other seasonings. A dry brine I like is 1 C salt, 1 C brown sugar and about 2 T of rosemary. I rub the turkey inside and out, let stand overnight and then rinse before grilling.

For injecting, you can use melted butter (w/garlic, lemon, etc.) or buy a commerical injectable. I really like Louisiana Fish Fry- Cajun Butter .http://www.louisianafishfry.com/ Not spicy. Flavorful. Inject about 8 oz. per bird.

A basic seasoning technique I like is to coat the bird with butter and then rub it in. Great rubs are easily found on the web with a modicum of searching. Match your tastebuds with the main ingredients.

A few ideas on “how”to do your bird.

Rotisserie. This is easy and fun. The Weber kettle rotisserie is one of life’s best secrets. Bank the coals on both sides, place a drip pan between the two sides of coals, thread the bird with the rotisserie, balance and then walk away. There is no sound in the world like the hum of a rotisserie. It has the qualities of  Tibetan Monks chanting…lulling you into a better place. And what makes it better than monks chanting, is that you have a great meal and terrific leftovers.

You need a deep grill for this technique; On the Throne, but it can be done. Like “beer can chicken”, you basically take a small bird (10-12 pounds) and then insert a Foster’s Beer can into the cavity, and place the bird back on the grill, feet down.

Other than that, you can always deep fry the bird (quick, tasty and theatrical) . But I have seen garages full of left over oil. Clean up is a drag too.

Great sites I recommend for turkey advice:

Weber

Big Green Egg

Just search the recipe area and forums. Enjoy.

(Please post any comments with your Thanksgiving experiences)